JW survey

I'm writiing a thesis on JWs and am wondering if people with any connection with JWs - underground JWs, former JWs / 'apostates', inactive JWs etc would be willing to give me some feedback on these questions. No need for any personal details, but if you want to add some information about your experiences with JWs that would be appreciated.

If am interested in your answers to these questions:

What determines how you live your life?

If your personal interpretation on a particular Bible teaching differs to how others in the congregation understand it, what is the correct procedure to resolve the issue?

What kinds of qualities does a faithful Jehovah’s Witness have?

What kinds of things does a person need to do to become this kind of faithful Jehovah’s Witness?

What kinds of things would a faithful Jehovah’s Witness NOT do that people in other religions do?

How much time do you consider a faithful Jehovah’s Witness needs to spend in studying the Bible and Bible literature each week to develop the abilities that help them stay faithful?

How and why is Witnessing important in being a faithful Jehovah’s Witness and why do Jehovah’s Witnesses usually go witnessing in pairs?

What do you think is the greatest danger to the spiritual life of a Jehovah’s Witness?

How do you use literature to engage the interest and reach the hearts of the people you witness to?

How do you handle opposition in your witnessing work?

What is your greatest fear as a Jehovah’s Witness?

Why do you think Jehovah’s Witnesses are growing so fast?

What appeals to you most about being a Jehovah’s Witness?

What do you think are the reasons for people not choosing to join the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ organisation?

The Russian government authorities are trying to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why do you think they are doing this?

The Russian authorities have listed 34 Watchtower publications as ‘extremist’. Which Jehovah’s Witness teachings do you think they are objecting to?

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently suffering discrimination and persecution in Russia, China and Arabic speaking countries. What do you think the persecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses should do about this?

Some people think that science has the potential to solve many of the world’s problems but scientists do not agree on scientific theories or research conclusions. Where do you think we can find scientific truth?

Some people think the world is getting better – people are living longer; cures are being discovered for various diseases; we can travel further and faster, and communicate instantly all over the world. How do you respond to people who say there has never been a better time to be alive, despite the problems and challenges?

Some people think that humanity should work to make life better for everyone by people learning to share, cooperate and make room for different lifestyles and beliefs. How would a world based on these principles compare with the paradise earth preached by Jehovah’s Witnesses?

What do you think Jesus meant by his statement ‘you will know the truth and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32)?

How would knowing the truth help those whose lives are characterised by poverty, sickness, living in countries where there are wars, corruption, injustice, and oppression?

How has your membership in the Jehovah’s Witness organisation affected your life in this world? If you are a convert, how does your life compare to what it was before you became a Jehovah’s Witness?

What kinds of things does a person need to do to become this kind of faithful Jehovah’s Witness?

-change their worldly ways (i.e. if they smoked, had sex out of marriage, live with the opposite sex without being married...etc...etc)

What kinds of things would a faithful Jehovah’s Witness NOT do that people in other religions do?

-WILL NOT CELEBRATE HOLIDAYS (because of pagan origins)

-NOT live with people of the opposite sex that they're not married to

-will NOT have sex outside of marriage

How much time do you consider a faithful Jehovah’s Witness needs to spend in studying the Bible and Bible literature each week to develop the qualities that help them stay faithful?

depends on the person..each person is different.

How and why is Witnessing important in being a faithful Jehovah’s Witness and why do Jehovah’s Witnesses usually go witnessing in pairs?

Witnessing is important because if it wasn't for Jehovah's Witnesses coming to their door sharing the good news of God's kingdom to them they would probably not have changed their ways and lived according to what God wants them to...so they become baptized because they want to and be able to share what they learned from the bible to other people so the people they witness to can have an informed decision whether or not they want to change their ways and serve God. Why do JWs usually go witnessing in pairs? because they are following Jesus's instructions as layed out in the bible when he had witnesses go out in twos in the new testament.

What do you think is the greatest danger to the spiritual life of a Jehovah’s Witness?

SATAN...he can come in many subtle forms...family...friends...colleagues...etc...etc...

Why do you think Jehovah’s Witnesses are growing so fast?

because people are tired of the hypocrisy that most religions have shown...so people are taking a chance and listening to what JWS have to say...what they are all about...and they experience for themselves that JWS are different from most religions because they see the love among fellow witnesses...they are actually teaching what the bible has to say...not what this person said or the other person...but what the bible actually does say about certain subjects.

What appeals to you most about being a Jehovah’s Witness?

different cultures, ethnic groups...that they're not afraid of using God's name...they share the good news of God's kingdom to anyone who will listen..bravery to go to a stranger and talk about God....that they share the good news in many different languages and in same literature as well...people can have bible studies anywhere at work, school, library, their own home...they adapt to people's schedules they can give a witness in 5 mins or less or more depending on the person they're talking to time.

1. What determines how you live your life? following bible principal and taking Jehovah`s point of view in everything i do.

2. If your personal interpretation on a particular Bible teaching differs to how others in the congregation understand it, what is the correct procedure to resolve the issue? pray to jehovah, study the bible more intensely asking jehovah for clarity, ask questions

4. What kinds of things does a person need to do to become this kind of faithful Jehovah’s Witness? Love Jehovah, Know Jehovah, Manifest your faith in Jehovah, study his word-the bible, share in the preaching work, attend christian meetings to learn more

5. What kinds of things would a faithful Jehovah’s Witness NOT do that people in other religions do? celebrate holidays, make god seem hard-hearted and unloving by sending people to torute in hell fire forever, take blood, use the cross, there are lots

6. How much time do you consider a faithful Jehovah’s Witness needs to spend in studying the Bible and Bible literature each week to develop the qualities that help them stay faithful? it depends on the person. As for me, I study every nigh--t for 30mins-hour.

7. How and why is Witnessing important in being a faithful Jehovah’s Witness and why do Jehovah’s Witnesses usually go witnessing in pairs? telling others about the good news of god kingdom is important as was commanded in matthew. also if you are passionate about something, you would naturally want to tell others about your passion! jesus talked a lot about the kingdom and as his followers we should imitate people and share the good news and give others a chance to know the truth.

8. What do you think is the greatest danger to the spiritual life of a Jehovah’s Witness? the influience of satans world is definetly strong, it can pull you in and seem inviting. not all people, music,movies,ect. are holy and can cause us to stumble. also satan uses tactic such as making us question ourself and create confusion and curiousity, which can cause us to doubt and leave the truth and step into the world.

9. How do you use literature to engage the interest and reach the hearts of the people you witness to? if i know of an article someone would be interested in, i would give them the publication and point out the article i though they would enjoy. or for example, a coworker of mine, is starting to read her bible ,she told me how she thinks jesus is such a good man and wants to focus on learning more about jesus. so i gave her a greatest man book.

10. How do you handle opposition in your witnessing work? when your witnessing to someone, its like there in a box and when they oppose or persecute you, they are not saying it to you, but saying it to jehovah.

11. What is your greatest fear as a Jehovah’s Witness?

12. Why do you think Jehovah’s Witnesses are growing so fast?

1 3. What appeals to you most about being a Jehovah’s Witness?

14. What do you think are the reasons for people not choosing to join the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ organisation? misconceptions

15. The Russian government authorities are trying to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why do you think they are doing this?

16. The Russian authorities have listed 34 Watchtower publications as ‘extremist’. Which Jehovah’s Witness teachings do you think they are objecting to?

17. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently suffering discrimination and persecution in Russia, China and Arabic speaking countries. What do you think the persecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses should do about this?

18. Some people think that science has the potential to solve many of the world’s problems but scientists do not agree on scientific theories or research conclusions. Where do you think we can find scientific truth?

19. Some people think the world is getting better – people are living longer; cures are being discovered for various diseases; we can travel further and faster, and communicate instantly all over the world. How do you respond to people who say there has never been a better time to be alive, despite the problems and challenges?

20. Some people think that humanity should work to make life better for everyone by people learning to share, cooperate and make room for different lifestyles and beliefs. How would a world based on these principles compare with the paradise earth preached by Jehovah’s Witnesses?

21. What do you think Jesus meant by his statement ‘you will know the truth and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32)?

22. How would knowing the truth help those whose lives are characterised by poverty, sickness, living in countries where there are wars, corruption, injustice, and oppression?

23. How has your membership in the Jehovah’s Witness organisation affected your life in this world? If you are a convert, how does your life compare to what it was before you became a Jehovah’s Witness?

For some reason the formatting of your post is messed up for me (stuff like: "@font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:") but I'll try anwering your questions anyway, because it seems only hardcore JWs answered so far, and you should have a balanced view. To tell you the truth some questions are pretty hard to answer for a non-hardcore JW, but I'll try my best, moreso because you're obviously a JW, so it's a rather interesting choice that you came here for answers. May I take a guess: are you from Bethel researching for a new book? Anyway, my answers, to the best of my ability, and please try not to use it to further the mind control. The people are weary and heavy laden already.

What determines how you live your life?

Internal moral code, mostly based on the Bible and personal experience as to what hurts someone's life (mine, or more importantly others').

If your personal interpretation on a particular Bible teaching differs to how others in the congregation understand it, what is the correct procedure to resolve the issue?

Pray and study the Bible alone, and let that be your guide. Human guidance can never be dependable, no matter where it comes from.

What kinds of qualities does a faithful Jehovah’s Witness have?

I'd say there's one common quality of faithful JW: they accept the Governing Body as the mouthpiece of God, and anything that they say, as coming from God. Many JWs are good people on their own, dependable, high moral standards, etc., but most were about as good before becoming a JW. The cult however introduces some negative qualities, often without the JW realising: when the cult is involved lying, hypocrisy and double standards are acceptable.

What kinds of things does a person need to do to become this kind of faithful Jehovah’s Witness?

Totally abandon critical thinking, and accept the written words of the WTS as the only reliable moral compass.

What kinds of things would a faithful Jehovah’s Witness NOT do that people in other religions do?

Investigate the source of his beliefs.

How much time do you consider a faithful Jehovah’s Witness needs to spend in studying the Bible and Bible literature each week to develop the qualities that help them stay faithful?

The more the better. It really depends how much critical thinking the person still has. Mind control is based much more on repetition instead of sheer volume, so regularity is more important than time spent. I'd say at least 30 minutes for a good daily brainwash is enough for most.

How and why is Witnessing important in being a faithful Jehovah’s Witness and why do Jehovah’s Witnesses usually go witnessing in pairs?

Making someone do tasks related to your object is one of the technique of mind control. It gives less time to think critically, and forces them to think as the group demands to. Pairing also enforces the groupthink, because of one's fear of being discovered having non-accepted thoughs.

What do you think is the greatest danger to the spiritual life of a Jehovah’s Witness?

Thinking.

How do you use literature to engage the interest and reach the hearts of the people you witness to?

Not applicable. However if I were to witness, I'd rely solely on the Bible, because that is the single source of truth.

How do you handle opposition in your witnessing work?

Not applicable.

What is your greatest fear as a Jehovah’s Witness?

That I will lose my wife to the cult.

Why do you think Jehovah’s Witnesses are growing so fast?

They don't grow fast at all. The overall growth is only very slightly above the human population growth. The vast majority of the baptized ones I knew were JW children. The growth is in fact very slow compared to the huge amount of resources they put into "reaching" others.

What appeals to you most about being a Jehovah’s Witness?

I liked having "friends" as a given. I realise it was not the correct thing to just have them for granted, friendship should always be earned, and not demanded, but I liked it nonetheless.

What do you think are the reasons for people not choosing to join the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ organisation?

The reasons are very varried. The vast majority don't know at all what JWs believe, and just don't want to be bothered by uninvited strangers. Who does know however, can easily look up what JWs are all about, and can easily find out that they fit perfectly in the description of "dangerous cult".

The Russian government authorities are trying to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why do you think they are doing this?

Because of the actions. A person should always be free to believe whatever whacky thing chooses to believe, but if by actions they promote child murder (refusal of blood), or religious intolerance and hatred, that affects others negatively. That should be forbidden by law.

The Russian authorities have listed 34 Watchtower publications as ‘extremist’. Which Jehovah’s Witness teachings do you think they are objecting to?

Banning of blood, inciting religious hatred.

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently suffering discrimination and persecution in Russia, China and Arabic speaking countries. What do you think the persecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses should do about this?

As I said above if the persecution is because of their acts then they should stop hurting others. If it's because of their beliefs they should remember Jesus' words about persecution.

Some people think that science has the potential to solve many of the world’s problems but scientists do not agree on scientific theories or research conclusions. Where do you think we can find scientific truth?

"Scientific truth" is oxymoron. Science does not deal with truths, only with knowledge. The "Truth" is a Watchtower concept, and has no place in science.

Some people think the world is getting better – people are living longer; cures are being discovered for various diseases; we can travel further and faster, and communicate instantly all over the world. How do you respond to people who say there has never been a better time to be alive, despite the problems and challenges?

That they are right :) I feel for the people having problems, but I wouldn't change my place for nothing in the world with someone, say from the 16th century, when my life expentancy would have been around 40 years, and most of the time I would most likely spend hungry and in pain from various diseases. (for the record I live in a second world country, I'm only a bit above the world's average)

Some people think that humanity should work to make life better for everyone by people learning to share, cooperate and make room for different lifestyles and beliefs. How would a world based on these principles compare with the paradise earth preached by Jehovah’s Witnesses?

The good things would be roughly the same (like no corruption, happy people, etc). However in the JW "paradise" there would be no place for diversity and freedom of thought. I'll rather take a short, but free life, than a long robotic one (if those were the only choices).

What do you think Jesus meant by his statement ‘you will know the truth and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32)?

Freedom is when you are not bound by others' views, bound only by the love of God.

How would knowing the truth help those whose lives are characterised by poverty, sickness, living in countries where there are wars, corruption, injustice, and oppression?

This is a leading question. Naughty, naughty!

How has your membership in the Jehovah’s Witness organisation affected your life in this world? If you are a convert, how does your life compare to what it was before you became a Jehovah’s Witness?

It introduced a huge deal of mental and marital strain. I fight each day just to keep my belief in God, because often I am overwhelmed by the feeling that if God existed, He never would allow groups to slander His name in such manner. Also I fight to read and accept the Bible as the word of God, because after I've seen that immoral people can twist the words of God to mean whatever they want to mean, it's hard to accept it as a letter from God. My conversion pushed me nearly to the point of being atheist (I was a God fearing man before).

What determines how you live your life? My own moral code. I believe the common thread "Do unto others as you would have done to you."

If your personal interpretation on a particular Bible teaching differs to how others in the congregation understand it, what is the correct procedure to resolve the issue? I left after realizing what hypocrits my "brothers" were.

What kinds of qualities does a faithful Jehovah’s Witness have? Obedience to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.

What kinds of things does a person need to do to become this kind of faithful Jehovah’s Witness? A willingness to not think for themselves.

What kinds of things would a faithful Jehovah’s Witness NOT do that people in other religions do? Disagree publicly with a doctrine.

How much time do you consider a faithful Jehovah’s Witness needs to spend in studying the Bible and Bible literature each week to develop the abilities that help them stay faithful? 10 hours

How and why is Witnessing important in being a faithful Jehovah’s Witness and why do Jehovah’s Witnesses usually go witnessing in pairs? a) They are told that this is the single most important act of displaying loyalty and faithfulness to the organization and they are directed to do so with 1 scriptural reference. b) The scripture reference says to go out in pairs.

What do you think is the greatest danger to the spiritual life of a Jehovah’s Witness? The truth about the history of the religion.

How do you use literature to engage the interest and reach the hearts of the people you witness to? I used to try to draw a parallel from the magazine articles to modern life.

How do you handle opposition in your witnessing work? Smile and move on.

What is your greatest fear as a Jehovah’s Witness? Getting shunned by friends and family.

Why do you think Jehovah’s Witnesses are growing so fast? I don't think they are growing all that fast, however the growth is because a lot of people are lonely and they JW fill that gap providing the JW adheres to official doctrine.

What appeals to you most about being a Jehovah’s Witness? At the time, it was the fellowship.

What do you think are the reasons for people not choosing to join the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ organisation? They realize its bogus religion for a publishing company or just plain odd.

The Russian government authorities are trying to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why do you think they are doing this? Not sure.

The Russian authorities have listed 34 Watchtower publications as ‘extremist’. Which Jehovah’s Witness teachings do you think they are objecting to? Not sure

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently suffering discrimination and persecution in Russia, China and Arabic speaking countries. What do you think the persecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses should do about this? Not much they can do about this, as they are not the only "Christian" religions enduring this treatment.

Some people think that science has the potential to solve many of the world’s problems but scientists do not agree on scientific theories or research conclusions. Where do you think we can find scientific truth? From critically peer reviewed documents that are funded by neutral parties.

Some people think the world is getting better – people are living longer; cures are being discovered for various diseases; we can travel further and faster, and communicate instantly all over the world. How do you respond to people who say there has never been a better time to be alive, despite the problems and challenges? I agree.

Some people think that humanity should work to make life better for everyone by people learning to share, cooperate and make room for different lifestyles and beliefs. How would a world based on these principles compare with the paradise earth preached by Jehovah’s Witnesses? Sharing, cooperating works out, but no room for differences in beliefs in the JW system.

What do you think Jesus meant by his statement ‘you will know the truth and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32)? The truth about JW has set me free, I am no longer under the thumb of the teachings, and its wonderful to be free.

How would knowing the truth help those whose lives are characterised by poverty, sickness, living in countries where there are wars, corruption, injustice, and oppression? What do you mean by "the truth"? Are you referring to slang JW term "The Truth"? If so, it really doesn't except they enjoy the fairy tale that life under a perfect system can happen. Not much different than any other religion teaching about heaven.

How has your membership in the Jehovah’s Witness organisation affected your life in this world? If you are a convert, how does your life compare to what it was before you became a Jehovah’s Witness? I was miserable as JW. I hated it, was very self-destructive. Since leaving, my life has gotten considerably better.

What determines how you live your life?( I am a former JW of 34 yrs., so my responses are relative to my current perspectives of the JW's...) I determine how to live my life based primarily on the principles of love, acceptance, and kindness.

If your personal interpretation on a particular Bible teaching differs to how others in the congregation understand it, what is the correct procedure to resolve the issue? Everyone in the congregation is supposed to be "like-minded" according to what The Society's interpretation of the Bible is, so if you have a personal interpretation of a Bible teaching you really should drop it.

What kinds of qualities does a faithful Jehovah’s Witness have? Blind obedience, unwavering loyalty to the organization above all else. Note: I did not say unwavering loyalty to God, if you are disloyal to the organization on any level, they say you are being disloyal to God, but the organization is the intermediary that must have your whole-souled devotion or else you can not possibly be devoted to God or his "truth".

What kinds of things does a person need to do to become this kind of faithful Jehovah’s Witness? Go to all the meetings, assemblies, study for all of the meetings, go in the field ministry often, accept The Watchtower Society as God's means of directing his people on earth and be unconditionally loyal to it.

What kinds of things would a faithful Jehovah’s Witness NOT do that people in other religions do? They won't accept blood transfusions, won't celebrate any holidays or birthdays...in general, that's about all; other religions adhere to many of the same moral codes as JW's, but JW's also have idiosyncratic things they won't do like wish someone "good luck" or say "bless you" when someone sneezes.

How much time do you consider a faithful Jehovah’s Witness needs to spend in studying the Bible and Bible literature each week to develop the abilities that help them stay faithful? Enough so that they don't have time to or want to be engaged in any other studying, reading or research. The whole point of "studying" as much as they do has nothing to do with learning anything new or honing any particular skills. They are kept busy with busy-work, "studying" the same things over and over again and the reason they need to do this is because the reasoning is mostly falacious, so, of course, they never really "get it" and they must be constantly enveloped in the Watchtower Society's dogma so as to keep them "strong" in the faith, which really means that when you don't immerse yourself in the repititiousness of the same material that you become "weak" or their hold over you has weakened.

How and why is Witnessing important in being a faithful Jehovah’s Witness and why do Jehovah’s Witnesses usually go witnessing in pairs? They believe that, according to Matt. 24:14 that, "this good news of the kingdom must be preached to all the nations and then the end will come." So it's because they believe that the preaching work has to be done for God to bring Armagedon. They do it in pairs in imitation of Jesus sending his apostles out in pairs, though this is not really a rule because sometimes they go out alone or with 3 or 4 people...it's more a matter of safety or conveniencne.

What do you think is the greatest danger to the spiritual life of a Jehovah’s Witness? According to them, it's the World. Anything outside their religion and the people in it are dangerous to their spiritual lives, including "worldly wisdom," which is what they call higher education.

How do you use literature to engage the interest and reach the hearts of the people you witness to? I don't, but when I did I used current events that were horrible and usually highlighted in the books and magazines to try to connect with people how horrible the world is that we live in and along with other cultish techniques, I would try to feed off their fears and hopelessness to steer them towards our offer of answers to all the world's problems offered by God via the WBTS (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society).

How do you handle opposition in your witnessing work? Now I applaud those who oppose JW's work. When I was a JW I was happy when we were opposed because we were told that "true Christians' would be known because they had opposition, so it reinforced my conviction that I had "The Truth."

What is your greatest fear as a Jehovah’s Witness? Apostates, i.e. anyone who had once been a JW and now wasn't...

Why do you think Jehovah’s Witnesses are growing so fast? Because they feed off the fears of people and the uncertainty we experience in life. They offer comforting answers to all the problems mankind faces...it's a very nice delusion and unfortunately people want an escape from the way the world is rather than taking any kind of personal responsibility in changing things. We got ourselves into the messes we're in and we're suffering the consequences of thousands of years of believing that gods will somehow swoop in and save us.

What appeals to you most about being a Jehovah’s Witness? The only thing I miss is my family and the community I once had. Unfortunately for me, I was born into a JW family and so I had no outside (of the organization) friends or support of any kind when I left. They completely isolate themselves, so if you ever leave, you are now on the outside and nobody from the inside, not even your family, will have anything to do with you. They try to whitewash this by saying that familys can talk to family members who have left, but the reality, at least for me, is that, yes, they will talk to you if you call, but they keep it very business-like and if or when you really need something, like food, you're on your own.

What do you think are the reasons for people not choosing to join the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ organisation? Hopefully one reason is that they are educated enough to see how falacious it is. I believe the countries and areas they are growing the most is in impoverished lands and ones with minimal educational opportunities. I also think a lot of people who have other religious backgrounds think they are a cult, which I agree.

The Russian government authorities are trying to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why do you think they are doing this? I am not exactly sure, but I think it's because the government views them as subverssive. I know they won't participate in any military service, although the exact "rules" on this are bent at times depending on who you ask at headquarters. Simply look into what the JW's in Mexico were doing to bribe themselves out of military service while the JW's in Malawi were being imprisoned and killed for not purchasing a political card.

The Russian authorities have listed 34 Watchtower publications as ‘extremist’. Which Jehovah’s Witness teachings do you think they are objecting to? Perhaps not taking blood transfusions, especially not allowing their children to have them and choosing to let them die in lieu of using that medical treatment. They also believe that God will destroy all the governments of the earth and usher in His own, so that may be an issue. The Society has powerful control over millions of people. They could at any moment either "drink the Kool Aid" or do whatever it is the Watchtower organization tells them to do and they would all do it--no questions asked. Governments want people to comply with their laws and submit to their authority primarily, but JW's only do that relative to what the WBTS tells them to do.

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently suffering discrimination and persecution in Russia, China and Arabic speaking countries. What do you think the persecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses should do about this? I have a dilemma in this regard. I want freedom for everyone from discrimination and persecution. However, I don't know what should be done with subversive groups that take advantage of people, like cults and the KKK who preach hate and intolerance.

Some people think that science has the potential to solve many of the world’s problems but scientists do not agree on scientific theories or research conclusions. Where do you think we can find scientific truth? I think all information should be critically analyzed and that there may not be one truth or we may never find it, so we should just stop being so haughty as to believe any one thing as the absolute truth and realize that we're all just choosing what to believe and trying to do the best we can with the information we do have.

Some people think the world is getting better – people are living longer; cures are being discovered for various diseases; we can travel further and faster, and communicate instantly all over the world. How do you respond to people who say there has never been a better time to be alive, despite the problems and challenges? I agree with them. It's your choice to look at all that's wrong with the world and all the problems or to look at all that's good and right in the world. Any person in any time period could find horrible things to commiserate about and surrender their personal power to religious or govermental authorities to "save" them, but there's always a bright side, even for death. I honestly believe that death makes us live and when religions use promises of eternal life as rewards for serving God, all they are doing is living for the religion and robbing themselves of their true life.

Some people think that humanity should work to make life better for everyone by people learning to share, cooperate and make room for different lifestyles and beliefs. How would a world based on these principles compare with the paradise earth preached by Jehovah’s Witnesses? It would be similar in a lot of respects, except you'd have to be a robot if you're a JW. Yes, they embrace diversity as long as it's ethnic, but strictly speaking, that's about it. Diversity in beliefs, sexual orientation, etc. etc., are not tolerated among JW's. They believe that God will have to kill people of all other religions, beliefs, sexual orientations besides straight, anyone with any political views, and everyone else who chooses not to blindly obey the WBTS.

What do you think Jesus meant by his statement ‘you will know the truth and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32)? For me it meant that I found the truth that JW's don't have THE TRUTH and I was freed from mind-control. I was freed from major depression and anxiety attacks. I was freed from patriarchy and heterosexism. I was free to go to college and study more than one subject. I was free to be happy. I believe love is truth.

How would knowing the truth help those whose lives are characterised by poverty, sickness, living in countries where there are wars, corruption, injustice, and oppression? It's an escape. It gives them a kind of hope, albeit a false hope, that if they just go to a few meetings and tell others what JW's believe that their whole life will be perfect and even if they die before they get their reward, God will remember them and resurrect them into a paradise.

How has your membership in the Jehovah’s Witness organisation affected your life in this world? If you are a convert, how does your life compare to what it was before you became a Jehovah’s Witness? I was raised as a JW and left it when I was 34 years old. I am so much happier now. It's difficult to describe how freeing it is to be able to think for myself and choose what I believe and change what I believe when it's appropriate for me. I believe that people are JW's, stay JW's, and become JW's because they are miserable. They never find their own inner peace or happiness with who they are or how things are and they choose to live and believe in the magical fairy tale spun by the WBTS.

Note: I'm a "faded" Witness--meaning that I no longer participate in Witness activities and no longer believe that the Watchtower Society is the path to everlasting life, but I have not formally disassociated myself from the religion.

What determines how you live your life? My responsibilities to my family as well as the general principle to treat others as I want to be treated.

If your personal interpretation on a particular Bible teaching differs to how others in the congregation understand it, what is the correct procedure to resolve the issue? In the JW faith, the proper procedure is to be quiet about the matter and "wait on Jehovah"--which means to wait on the Watchtower Society to hopefully print a clarification of the issue. It is permissible to discuss such questions with congregation elders, but not permissible to discuss such questions with the general congregation.

What kinds of things does a person need to do to become this kind of faithful Jehovah’s Witness? Regularly attend all scheduled Witness meetings, read Watchtower literature regularly, participate weekly in the Watchtower Society's literature distribution work.

What kinds of things would a faithful Jehovah’s Witness NOT do that people in other religions do? Receive transfusions of whole blood or blood fractions that are not specifically approved by the Watchtower Society; celebrate holidays, vote in political elections; join the YMCA; attend university; play organized youth sports.

How much time do you consider a faithful Jehovah’s Witness needs to spend in studying the Bible and Bible literature each week to develop the abilities that help them stay faithful? At least ten hours, including meetings.

How and why is Witnessing important in being a faithful Jehovah’s Witness and why do Jehovah’s Witnesses usually go witnessing in pairs? Primarily, the "witnessing" work keeps the members busy with Watchtower activities. This along with the bi-weekly meetings keeps the Witnesses on a treadmill of activity. Thus, there is little time (outside of secular work) to pursue activities with those outside the religion. This helps to keep the Witnesses from forming relationships with those outside the religion, thus strengthening the Watchtower Society's control over the individual Witnesses. Witnesses typically go in pairs because (1) there is scriptural support for Jesus sending disciples out in pairs, (2) it is safer than going to a stranger's house alone, and (3) if one Witness gets "stumped" by a question, the other may be able to help.

What do you think is the greatest danger to the spiritual life of a Jehovah’s Witness? The Internet with its mountains of information on the sketchy history and questionable doctrines of the Watchtower Society. Many Witnesses have no idea about the Society's history as a false prophet. The Internet puts that information at our fingertips.

How do you use literature to engage the interest and reach the hearts of the people you witness to? When I was an active Witness, I distributed copies of various pieces of Watchtower literature to the public. I tried to pick a point from the literature that was interesting to me, and would share it with the person to whom I witnessed.

How do you handle opposition in your witnessing work? I expected it and didn't really give it a second thought.

What is your greatest fear as a Jehovah’s Witness? My greatest fear was being killed by God at Armageddon.

Why do you think Jehovah’s Witnesses are growing so fast? Modern society frightens some people. Thus, we have seen an increase in all types of fundamentalist religions--from radical Islam, to fundamentalist evangelical Christians, to end-of-the-world groups. The JW faith is just another fundamentalist religion that offers simple, black-and-white answers to difficult questions. This makes some people comfortable.

What appeals to you most about being a Jehovah’s Witness? When I was a Witness, I liked the fact that we did not believe in silly doctrines that other churches taught, such as the Trinity. Now that I'm not a Witness, I still like the fact that I don't believe in such silly doctrines...

What do you think are the reasons for people not choosing to join the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ organisation? Most people simply aren't interested in changing their religion.

The Russian government authorities are trying to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why do you think they are doing this? Probably a combination of nationalism (because the JW faith is an American religion) and the Orthodox clergy trying to preserve its position against a perceived threat.

The Russian authorities have listed 34 Watchtower publications as ‘extremist’. Which Jehovah’s Witness teachings do you think they are objecting to? Probably things such as the blood doctrine and the teaching that God will soon kill everyone who is not a Witness.

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently suffering discrimination and persecution in Russia, China and Arabic speaking countries. What do you think the persecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses should do about this? First, even though I do not believe that the JW/Watchtower faith is "the true religion," I do not support government persecution of people because of their religious beliefs. Religion is a personal matter. I think those persecuted Witnesses should examine (1) the authenticity of the Bible and (2) the history of their religion in order to make a determination whether it is worthwhile to suffer for those beliefs.

Some people think that science has the potential to solve many of the world’s problems but scientists do not agree on scientific theories or research conclusions. Where do you think we can find scientific truth? This question makes no sense. What is "scientific truth"? Every scientist in the world will readily admit that we have a lot to learn. So, as we continue to learn more about the universe and the bodies therein, the body of "scientific truth" will continue to increase. Such knowledge can be found in reputable journals such as Nature, etc.

Some people think the world is getting better – people are living longer; cures are being discovered for various diseases; we can travel further and faster, and communicate instantly all over the world. How do you respond to people who say there has never been a better time to be alive, despite the problems and challenges? I couldn't agree more. Even when I was a believing Witness, I would have admitted this.

Some people think that humanity should work to make life better for everyone by people learning to share, cooperate and make room for different lifestyles and beliefs. How would a world based on these principles compare with the paradise earth preached by Jehovah’s Witnesses? It would be similar, except animals would still be wild (e.g., no petting lions) and people would still get sick and die.

What do you think Jesus meant by his statement ‘you will know the truth and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32)? As a Witness, I believed that this scripture meant that by learning the truth about Jesus, God, etc., you could be set free from enslavement to death and could potentially gain everlasting life.

How would knowing the truth help those whose lives are characterised by poverty, sickness, living in countries where there are wars, corruption, injustice, and oppression? As a believing Witness, I would have said that this scripture would have a complete fulfillment in the future paradise earth, but even today such ones could have an inner peace and hope for something better.

How has your membership in the Jehovah’s Witness organisation affected your life in this world? If you are a convert, how does your life compare to what it was before you became a Jehovah’s Witness? As a born-in Witness, my membership in the religion affected my day-to-day life in a major way. In school, I wasn't able to participate in many activities that are considered "normal" (organized sports, birthday parties) and I spent my Saturdays and school vacations wearing a suit selling religious literature. But in other ways, I lived a pretty normal life, especially as an adult. I guess you could say that I learned to compartmentalize the craziness.